Oral history interview with Guy B. Johnson, December 16, 1974

Dr. Guy Johnson was a UNC professor of sociology, an author, and the first executive director of the Southern Regional Council. This interview focuses on his work with that organization and with the North Carolina Committee for Interracial Cooperation in the 1920s and 1930s. Johnson also promoted the education of blacks in the 1920s with Dr. N.C. Newbold, and he discusses other colleagues in that endeavor. Johnson describes the annual meetings of the Interracial Commission and the role of women and church groups in the organization, especially Gertrude Weil, Mrs. W. H. Newell and Charlotte Hawkins Brown. Johnson's growing dissatisfaction with the Interracial Commission led him to accept the leading role in the Southern Regional Council (SRC) in 1943. He describes the forced resignation of one of its key members, Mrs. Jessie Daniel Ames, and some of the work she did in the early days of the SRC. As the new director, Johnson dealt with the difficulties in staffing and financing the SRC. He also witnessed controversy among the people with board membership in the SRC and the Committee on Interracial Cooperation. The issue of segregation proved highly contentious for the SRC, leading to disagreements among black and white members. Among the activities of the SRC during the first year were attempts at mass membership and the creation of publications. These activities also fueled conflicts between the SRC and the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, a more radical organization. The interview concludes with Johnson's analysis of the influence of foreign politics in the Southern Conference and the attempts of the SRC to emphasize and deal with post-war economic problems of the South as well as the racial issue. His wife, historian Dr. Guion Johnson, also contributed to this interview.